Senior Director, Embedded Systems & Process Engineering - Drug Delivery Devices & Combination

Organization Overview

The Delivery, Device, and Connected Solutions (DDCS) organization supports the design, development, and commercialization of drug products and pharmaceutical delivery systems, including medical devices, combination products, and container closure systems.

This is a rare opportunity to lead the engineering at the intersection of embedded systems, automation, and high-volume manufacturing for the devices that deliver Lilly’s medicines to patients. You will own how next-generation drug delivery devices and combination products are designed for assembly, automated at scale, and built right the first time across a global manufacturing network. If you are an engineering leader who is energized by assembly technologies, embedded electronics, and the challenge of making complex products manufacturable, this role offers the scope and the platform to shape it.

The Senior Director – Embedded Systems and Process Engineering (ESPE) provides functional and strategic leadership for device embedded systems (as applicable), manufacturing technologies, automated assembly processes, and global automation and control strategies supporting DDCS products from development through commercialization.

This role is accountable for defining, deploying, and governing embedded systems design (for those products with that capability), joining technologies, automated assembly architectures (including process data capture/reporting), part handling systems, and assembly control strategies that enable scalable, compliant, and robust manufacturing across Lilly’s global network and external partners.

The ESPE leader ensures that assembly solutions are designed for embedded control (as applicable), manufacturability, automation readiness, safety, and regulatory compliance, while advancing DDCS capabilities in standardization and automation maturity.

• Serve as the functional leader for product embedded systems, assembly technologies, automation engineering, and assembly controls across DDCS, leading a multidisciplinary organization of engineering managers and senior technical leaders.

• Embedded systems requirements, architecture, design, verification, and technology roadmaps.
• Joining technologies (e.g., adhesive bonding, ultrasonic welding, laser welding, snap-fit and mechanical joining)
• Automated and semi-automated assembly processes
• Part feeding and handling systems (e.g., feeder bowls, pick-and-place, conveyors, escapements)
• Assembly automation architectures and control strategies

• Lead, coach, and develop engineering managers and senior technical leaders within ESPE.

• Foster a culture of quality, safety, technical rigor, and continuous improvement, aligned with DDCS and Lilly leadership expectations.

• Define and govern preferred assembly technologies for DDCS devices, including:
  - Technology selection criteria
  - Design guidelines and limitations
  - Process development and qualification approaches
• Establish standards for:
  - Assembly process development and validation
  - Tooling, fixturing, and automation equipment requirements
  - Robustness, repeatability, and failure recovery
• Drive early integration of Design for Assembly (DFA) and Design for Manufacturability (DFM) principles into device development programs.
• Balance near‑term program execution with long‑term investments in reusable assembly platforms and standardized automation solutions.

• Ensure ES contributions to DDCS programs are appropriately‑resourced, technically sound, risk‑managed, and prioritized.
• Provide technical oversight and direction for embedded electronics, firmware development, system integration, modeling, and ES verification activities.
• Ensure ES delivers compliant, high‑quality work product including requirements, system…